Sensex (BSE Sensitive Index) recovered from the opening level of 2831.27 points to finish at 2890.72 points as compared to the previous level of 2832.03 points. The BSE-100 index recovered by 24.47 points to 1290.13 from the previous levels of 1265.66.

Brokers said the sentiment turned for better mainly on good buying by FIIs. Initially, operators remained cautious and did not even respond to the government's efforts to bring back investors confidence by strongly supporting the UTI and ruling out any crisis in the institution.

However, operators rushed to cover their short positions after the mid-session on strong speculation that the government would announce the buyback of shares soon and rumours thatthe market regulator was going to impose ban on short sales.

The recovery was also due to technical considerations of the market in view of the sharp fall and the start of the new account on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The total turnover was Rs 1289.88 crore. Satyam Computers gained by Rs 26.50 to Rs 572.25, ITC Rs 37.00 to Rs 703, Zee Telefilm Rs 12.50 to Rs 626.25, SBI Rs 11.80 to Rs 167.40 and Pentafour Software Rs 40.25 to Rs 646 on buying support.